As it happened: Depp comes out top in defamation case against Heard

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Johnny Depp, 58, rose from a child star to become one of the best-paid actors in the world.

He is said to have amassed a salary of more than $300m (£240m) from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise alone.

His net worth is currently estimated to be about $150m.

Amber Heard, 36, has made a name for herself in movies like Aquaman and The Danish Girl, but her fledgling career had only recently begun to take off.

Her current net worth is unclear, but it is significantly lower than that of her well-known ex-husband. Some sources say it is around $8m, while other sources report it may be in negative territory.

Given that Depp has been awarded over $10m (£8m) in damages, Heard could be facing a major financial hit from the trial.

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Ryan Baker, managing partner of law firm Waymaker LLP, gives us his take on the verdict.

In awarding Depp $10m in compensatory damages, as well as $5m in punitive damages - a number that will be reduced to $350,000 pursuant to Virginia State law - the jury found the greater weight of the evidence shows statements made in Amber Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed were false and made with a malicious intent to harm Depp.

However, the jury also found that Depp’s attorney made false and disparaging statements about Heard, awarding her $2m in compensatory damages.

To reach this conclusion, the jury had to discredit Heard’s testimony almost in its entirety.

Heard spent days on the stand detailing a variety of abuse she claims she suffered from Depp – perhaps she went too far.

But much of her testimony was contradicted by Depp and perhaps more importantly, other witnesses the jury may have found more credible due to their perceived neutrality, such as Kate Moss. In a case of his word against hers, the testimony of corroborating witnesses (including experts) is often influential.

Now, all that's left is for Heard’s team to consider post-trial motions, and maybe an appeal.

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Johnny Depp's defamation suit against his ex-wife quickly became a battle over the truth of their relationship. In the 2018 article, Amber Heard described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

Today, the jury found that wasn't true, effectively calling this a lie.

The verdict has worried domestic violence advocates who say it will deter survivors from coming forward with their own stories.

"Amber Heard identified as a survivor and did not name a perpetrator," said Nicole Bedera, a sociologist who specialises in sexual violence. "If that is something that leads to someone losing a defamation case and owing millions upon millions of dollars - that’s really concerning."

Bedera says it means survivors may be silent about what they experienced.

"There are a lot of scenarios where someone might identify as a survivor without naming a perpetrator that might now become scarier than they might have been before," she said.

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The jury in Fairfax, Virginia, found that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard both defamed each other.

But it largely sided with Depp's side of the story, saying Heard had defamed her ex-husband with "false" statements about their relationship.

Heard won only one of her three counter-claims against Depp, because his lawyer gave a statement to the Daily Mail in 2020 calling her abuse allegations a hoax.

She now has an opportunity to appeal the jury verdict.

But unless new evidence or testimony emerges in the aftermath of this blockbuster six-week courtroom drama, little will change from today's outcome.

It is not yet clear if Heard's legal team plans to appeal.

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"A classic murder suicide" is how crisis management and communications expert Eric Rose described the trial to the Associated Press.

He believes there are "no winners" when it comes to reputation management, saying Depp and Heard "bloodied each other up".

Rose says it will become more difficult for studios to hire either actor because many audience members might be turned off by their casting, AP reports.

Depp claimed in his defamation case that his ex-wife's allegations of domestic abuse cost him a reprise of his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

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Civil courts award damages to plaintiffs to compensate their pain and suffering or help them recoup losses after an incident.

Compensatory damages are intended to reimburse a plaintiff who has experienced actual losses, including future earnings.

Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant for their negligent actions, deterring them from committing the same violation again.

Johnny Depp initially sued for $50m. He received $10m in compensatory damages and $350,000 - per a Virginia legal limit - in punitive damages, for a total of $10.4m.

Meanwhile, Amber Heard was awarded $2m in compensatory damages but no punitive damages - a far cry from the $100m she demanded in her counter-suit against Depp.

Reactions are pouring in from many corners after a US jury held both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard liable for defamation.

Outspoken British broadcaster Piers Morgan called the result an "absolute slam-dunk" for Depp, while Major League Baseball's Trevor Bauer - who has filed his own defamation suit against a woman accusing him of assault - said it amounted to vindication for the actor.

British screenwriter Jemima Goldsmith - the ex-wife of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran khan - called on Depp to "urge the trolls to stand down", while feminist media critic and writer Joanna Schroeder said it felt like "a very bad day for women who are victims".

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Sequels are rarely better than the originals, but Johnny Depp will have definitely enjoyed this second installment.

Wednesday's verdict is a huge change of fortune for him. Two years ago, he was soundly defeated on similar libel claims in a UK court.

Back then, Depp sued The Sun newspaper over an article that called him a "wife beater" and alleged he had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp denies ever assaulting Heard, but the British tabloid maintained its article was accurate.

With Heard testifying on its behalf, the tabloid was able to prove in that case that the details in its story were "substantially true".

In this follow-up trial across the Atlantic, Depp arguably faced even lower odds of success.

In England, the burden of proof for defamation rests with the alleged slanderer, who must show what they said is true.

But in the US, a defamed person must prove what was said about them isn't true. Depp also had to prove Heard had written the article with "actual malice".

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When jurors delivered their verdict, Johnny Depp was awarded $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages.

But punitive damages in the state of Virginia are capped at $350,000.

US media reports that Judge Penny Azcarate has now reduced the size of Depp's punitive damages award to meet that legal limit.

Depp will therefore receive about $10.4m in total,

Amber Heard - who won one of her three counter-claims against Depp - was awarded $2m in compensatory damages but received no money for punitive damages.

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Amber Heard supporter Sydni Porter, carrying a flag with messages from other fans, says she is "disappointed and confused" by the verdict:

"It doesn’t make sense. Johnny Depp had already been on the downfall with his career, so I don’t think she had anything to do with it.

It’s disappointing for women going forward and how they have to bring evidence to court. Especially against someone as high profile as Johnny Depp.

The #MeToo movement seems to have separated themselves from [the trial] so I don’t think it’ll be affected.

It was very hard to watch even if I believed Johnny was the one who was abused. It shouldn’t be a spectacle for us all to watch."

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Johnny Depp fan Diana Merlo, 24, followed live coverage of the case on her phone and via TikTok:

"I’m happy for Johnny. He won his case, he was always being truthful and Amber Heard wasn’t.

I was nervous. When it comes to domestic abuse, we always hear about women not men.

Women can be just as abusive. Feminism is standing with people, not just women."

This is a news story where everyone has had equal access to the source material. Such access has empowered millions to engage and discuss.

We are seeing reaction shots of the main participants, we have been able to watch facial expressions, and we have seen some extraordinary moments unrelated to the main narrative.

The sight of the doorman, Alejandro Romero, delivering his testimony via Zoom from his car while vaping and then driving off is something new even for American justice. The look on Judge Penney Azcarate's face at the end of his testimony was proof enough. It is simply compelling to watch.

It is also a puzzle. Two people arguing a completely opposed view of events that took place behind closed doors means that millions can see the evidence for themselves and make up their own minds. We can all be detectives.

Read more about the extraordinary celebrity trial here.

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Millions of viewers across the globe tuned in to watch the legal battle between two Hollywood stars.

As the drama unfolded, a new star stepped into the spotlight: Johnny Depp's lawyer, Camille Vasquez.

Vasquez, 37, has become an unlikely - and unwitting - co-star of the show, gaining fans for her sharp legal style.

T-shirts adorned with her name and hashtags praising her are making the rounds on social media.

"I am still a Johnny Depp fan," reads one of the many tweets about her. "But I am also now a die-hard Camille Vasquez fan."

So who is the attorney that's caught the eye of court watchers?

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There have been essentially two cases here - one decided by a jury and another by the public.

And from its early days, it was clear the overwhelming weight of online traffic was siding with Johnny Depp and deeply suspicious of Amber Heard.

The number of people who watch TV news each evening in America is about 18 million. The number of views of videos on TikTok with the hashtag #justiceforjohnnydepp is, at the time of this writing, about 18 billion.

The question in the legal trial now is, what impact this verdict will have? Has Depp saved his career and reputation?

Read more about Depp and Heard’s ‘Trial by TikTok’ here.

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As he made his final pitch to the jury, Amber Heard's lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn boiled her case down into simple terms. Her op-ed at issue merely suggested she had been a victim of domestic abuse - she made no other specific allegations.

"If you think they were both abusive to each other... then Amber wins," he said. "If Amber was abused even one time, then she wins."

Going by this logic, the jury must not have believed a single instance of abuse detailed on the stand by Heard.

And there were many. She alleged numerous instances of emotional, physical, verbal and sexual assault.

None of these seem to have swayed the jury, who found she defamed her ex-husband by casting herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

Gary Spedding from Newcastle has described to BBC News his chance encounter with Depp at a pub there moments before the jury read their verdict.

"It was very surreal, meeting Johnny," he said.

"I was happy to have wished him luck earlier on and am very happy for the outcome," he added.

"He said 'thank you'. He was very gracious, you know, smiling. I was glad to have met him," Spedding said.

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If you were to take a look at social media over the past month, you'd see that to many, Heard lost in the court of public opinion weeks ago.

"What's interesting about public opinion in this case is that we can measure it," said journalist and author Cooper Lawrence, who has written extensively on celebrity culture.

"#JusticeForJohnnyDepp has more than 18 billion hits on TikTok. Amber Heard has only a tiny percentage of that."

Each day of the trial, Depp would pass hundreds of screaming fans on the short walk from his car to court.

Jurors had been instructed to stay offline and ignore all coverage of the case. But the noise around this case will have been hard to ignore.

"I think it will be really interesting to see how the jury responds to the cult of celebrity that's in front of them," Lawrence said before the verdict.

"Evidence matters, but the jury are fans, too."